We all need to have a simple cake recipe in a back pocket that's ready in five minutes. In our family, my brother was the expert on this brilliantly simple recipe. Unfortunately, he quit baking as a teenager and grew up to be a genius who didn't find baking genius enough anymore and started learning cybernetics. Anyway, I've tweaked this recipe for a simple bundt cake and made it into the best and easiest poppy seed cake recipe that even my brother would love to eat.
This dried fruit poppy seed cake is perfect for a lazy breakfast but you can also easily impress your guests with it. It's just such a versatile cake! The cane sugar and dried fruit make it just sweet enough, and the whole wheat flour gives it some extra nutrients. You can bake it in any shape you like, a small rectangle baking tin, a cake tin, Remoska, a loaf tin or a muffin tin. The recipe will always work great, you just need to adjust the baking time.
Are poppy seeds healthy?
Poppy seeds, like any other seeds, are actually good for your health. Moreover, it is delicious and is used all over the world, and not only for sweet baking. Above all, poppy seeds are an important source of calcium! It also contains a considerable amount of other minerals such as manganese, phosphorus and magnesium.
Why to use wholemeal flour?
Wholemeal flour is much healthier than white flour, and this is because the germ and the coating of the grain are ground into the flour. These parts contain most of the nutrients and fiber that you don't find in white flour. However, products made from wholemeal flour tend to be heavier and stiffer. That's why I like to use a 1:1 ratio of wholemeal to white flour in my recipes. The white flour keeps the cake batter soft and fluffy, but the whole wheat flour gives it more nutrients and fiber, because even a small amount of whole wheat flour counts in this case.
What are the benefits of measuring with a cup?
Measuring ingredients with a cup is quite a common thing and it's a way of volumetric measurement. A cup, a large tablespoon and a small teaspoon are usually used for measuring. The advantage is that you don't need a scale to bake! Thus, this way of baking is great if you don't have a lot of kitchen utensils. You just measure all the ingredients with a cup, stir them together in a bowl, and you're ready to go.
When measuring with a cup, however, it is good to keep a few things in mind...
- Choosing a right cup: Most recipes call for a regular mug (or special cup), the kind you use for tea, which has a capacity of about 240 ml. So use that one.
- The ingredients are smoothed out evenly : That is, at least approximately, so that the mug is not so called top-heavy and does not form one big mountain of ingredients on the mug.
- Stirring the ingredients: It is important to mix the ingredients before measuring, especially the flour! It is enough just to use a fork to mix the flour in the bag. The individual grains will separate from each other and you will measure out just enough flour. If the flour is stuck together, you may end up with too much flour in the batter and the cake will come out too dense. Also, lumps can form in the flour, which happens very often with wholemeal flour.
- Sifting through a sieve : Even these simple recipes benefit from sifting the dry ingredients through a sieve into a bowl to get rid of the lumps mentioned above and to make the flour more fluffy.
- The right way to measure: Measure the dry ingredients first and then the wet ones. It makes less mess and makes more sense.
Which dried fruits are best to add into poppy seed cake?
It probably won't surprise any of you that poppy seeds go perfectly with prunes, so they are always my first choice. But because I like interesting combos, I also mix prunes with dried cranberries and dried dates. I don't know the exact reason why, but this flavor combination is absolutely perfect.
But raisins will also serve you well (we love Sultanas at home) and dried cherries or sour cherries are a fancy alternative to raisins. Larger dried fruits should be chopped finely. Try something like figs or dried apricots or other orange fruits like peaches, papaya or mangoes look beautiful in the cake.
How to make a simple poppy seed cake with dried fruit?
Start by preheating the oven to 170°C. If you want to bake this cake in Remoska, skip this step and bake it without preheating.
Place a large sieve in a large bowl and measure out the ground poppy seeds, plain flour and wholemeal flour using a cup. Next add the baking powder, salt, cane sugar and cinnamon. Sift everything into a bowl and mix with a whisk.
Add 2 eggs, milk and oil to the flour mixture and mix with a whisk to form a smooth batter. Add milk if necessary if the batter is too thick - each flour absorbs liquid differently. Finally, add the chopped dried fruit to the batter and mix again with a spatula.
Pour the batter into the prepared tin about 20 cm in diameter (greased and floured or lined with baking paper) or into a Remoska and smooth with a spatula.
Bake the poppy seed cake in a preheated oven at 170°C for approximately 30 - 40 minutes. To tell if the poppy seed is baked, insert a skewer into the middle of the cake. The skewer should come out clean. If the batter is raw, bake the cake a few more minutes as needed.
How to store poppy seed cake with dried fruit?
Poppy seed cake is great freshly baked, but you'll enjoy it for days to follow. It is best to wrap the poppy seed cake in aluminum foil, where it will keep great for 2-3 days.
You can also freeze it for later. In this case, wrap the poppy seed in several layers of aluminum foil to prevent it from drying out and ideally also in cling film. It will be good for 1-2 months in the freezer.
TIPS:
- instead of poppy seeds, you can also add finely ground nuts or almonds to the batter - of course it won't be a poppy seed cake, but it will be delicious just the same!
- if you don't like dried fruit, you can add chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate to the poppy seed cake - poppy seeds and chocolate are an underrated combination!
- If you want a classic simple bundt cake, use 1 cup of white flour instead of ground poppy seeds, omit the cinnamon and add vanilla sugar
Recipe
Recipe 8 -10 servings
Poppy seed cake with dried fruit
Ingredients:
- 1 cup ground poppy seeds
- 1 cup spelt flour
- 1 cup whole wheat (spelt) flour
- 1 sachet of baking powder or 2 tsp (12 g)
- 1/2 cup oil (sunflower, rapeseed, coconut oil)
- 3/4 cup milk or plant-based milk
- pinch of salt
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup cane sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 3 handfuls of dried fruit (combination of cranberries, dates and plums or other fruit)
Instructions:
- Place a large sieve in a large bowl and measure out the ground poppy seeds, plain flour and wholemeal flour using a cup. Next add the baking powder, salt, cane sugar and cinnamon. Sift everything into a bowl and mix with a whisk.
- Add 2 eggs, milk and oil to the flour mixture and mix with a whisk to form a smooth batter. Add milk if necessary if the batter is too thick - each flour absorbs liquid differently.
- Finally, add the chopped dried fruit to the batter and mix again with a spatula.
- Pour the batter into the prepared tin about 20 cm in diameter (greased and floured or lined with baking paper) or into a Remoska and smooth with a spatula.
- Bake the poppy seed cake in a preheated oven at 170°C for approximately 30 - 40 minutes.
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